Giuseppe Verdi

Un ballo in maschera

15. February 2018

The masked ball which ends the opera written by Verdi in 1858 is no cheerful party. It is the scene of the regicide which was committed in 1792 on Sweden’s Gustav III. Masks are the ideal cover for all who have something to hide or to keep secret - Gustav and Amelia with their adulterous love, Anckarström the betrayed husband and friend, Oscar the unwilling harbinger of destiny, and the gang who conspire against the King. Without reference to the festive hall, the amusement put on for show already stands unmasked as a mere façade. Everybody is long since estranged from everybody else: the wife from the husband, the friend from the friend, the statesman from the population; and the etiquette of society barely covers up the chaos and anarchy which reign behind it. Not without reason did the Italian censorship demand of Verdi that he change the venue of the masked ball including an overt murder shown on stage, seeing that it was not even a year since the attack on Napoleon III in Naples. The outcome was a transfer of the story to the then colonial Boston in America and the transformation of the Swedish King into a British governor-general, the diplomat Anckarstroem is degraded to a coloured secretary, and the aristocrats who plot against the King are now simply called Samuel and Tom. The explosiveness of the piece remains.

In no other opera does Verdi so centralize the theme of the ambiguity of social existence with its tragic and comical sides, and the mortal danger which lurks in it. That the masked ball becomes a catastrophe is the outbreak of a latent threat which had been overshadowing the whole piece; for a King who neglects his political responsibility in favour of private matters, an advisor who overlooks his ruler’s weaknesses in blind patriotism, and a woman who does not dare to choose, are the ingredients for the overthrow of an entire system.

Horn

Ribbing

Richter

Diener

Extrachor

Chor

Orchester

Gustavo is awaited by his court, where he has friends and secret enemies. One friend is Renato Anckarström, who warns him against possible murderous attacks. But Gustavo has something else on his mind, the love he conceals from the world for Amelia, Renato’s wife. He rejoices to see her name on the invitation list to a masked ball which the page Oscar presents to him.
The supreme judge enters. He demands exile for the soothsayer Ulrica. But when Oscar pleads for her, claiming that she always foresees the truth, Gustavo decides to visit her in disguise with his courtiers and to put her to the test.
First to come to Ulrica is King Gustavo. He witnesses her prophecy of good fortune for the sailor Cristiano and contributes to it by slipping him money unnoticed. The bystanders sees a confirmation of Ulrica’s supernatural gifts in this „miracle“. When Ulrica sends the bystanders away in order to receive a noble lady, Gustavo remains behind unobserved, recognizes Amelia and is overwhelmed to hear her ask Ulrica for a potion to combat her love for Gustavo. Ulrica knows a way: Amelia must pluck a miraculous herb under the gallows at midnight.
The bystanders are now permitted to return. Gustavo is eager to have Ulrica predict his future. The soothsayer reads in his hand that a doomed man stands before her: the first to take his hand will be his murderer. Renato enters and in defiance of the prophecy Gustavo grasps the hand of his friend. At this Gustavo is recognized as the King and the crowd pays him homage.

Act 2

Amelia looks for the magic herb at midnight under the gallows, where Gustavo surprises her; his passionate pleadings prompt her to confess her love. Amelia only just has time to veil her face on the arrival of Renato, who announces that Gustavo is in mortal danger from conspirators. On Renato’s urging Gustavo wraps himself in his friend’s coat in order to reach home in safety, and charges Renato to accompany the veiled lady home without enquiring after her identity. Disappointed to have found only Renato and not the King, the conspirators cause the lady to unveil herself and thus to reveal to Renato that she is his own wife. Deeply stricken, he makes a rendezvous with the ringleaders in his house.

Act 3

Renato tells Amelia that she must die for her infidelity. She bows to her fate. But Renato’s thirst for vengeance is not satisfied and he informs the conspirators that he wishes to take part in their plot. They cast lots to determine who is to do the deed, Amelia is compelled to draw from the urn and the lot falls on Renato. Oscar’s bringing an invitation to a masked ball comes at a timely moment and Renato decides to commit the murder at the ball.

Gustavo has resolved to relinquish his love and to send Amelia and her husband back to their home country. During the ball Amelia attempts to warn Gustavo of the impending murder and he tells her of his resolve and bids her farewell. But disaster can no more be avoided; Renato, who has made Oscar reveal Gustavo’s costume to him, kills his friend. Dying, Gustavo convinces Renato of his and Amelia’s innocence. Renato stands stricken with remorse beside his noble victim.